“BACK IN TOWN WITH TRICKY TUNES: A composer doesn’t necessarily mean a songwriter, especially in Jazz. Guillermo Klein, originally from Argentina, who has written brilliantly for his jazz groups in New York and Barcelona since the mid-90’s, never made a distinction. He creates pieces full of tricky counterpoint and canon, but h also writes emotionally direct, harmonically complex, circular songs to bee sung by himself and others….Not long ago, Mr. Klein moved back to the New York area and started collaborating with the singer Rebecca Martin and the bassist Larry Grenadier. The idea was to put lyrics to Mr. Klein’s compositions, but the repertory expanded to include other composer’s work, too. At the Rockwood Music Hall on Wednesday’s in February.”

The group is set to record in May of 2015 joined by the drummer Jeff Ballard. Recorded and Produced by Pete Rende.

http://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/rm04.png00rebeccamartinhttp://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/rm04.pngrebeccamartin2015-01-31 14:05:102016-05-25 16:54:32Rebecca Martin's Collaborative Group with Guillermo Klein Called UPSTATE in New York Times.

When all of the house lights are taken down
And all of the people there
That traveled for hundreds of miles around
To hear their songs fill the air
Their beauty, the quiet and heaviness
The shadows they recall
Don’t mean a thing at all

A song would begin with a feeling
That’s had when the melody came
The words are assembled then written
Its meaning is somewhat relayed
On tip toes and reeling through misty eyes
The writing’s on the wall
Don’t mean a thing at all

Before the night gets underway
Your mind could change
What once was true that very day
Is now not the same

And there’s no way she could know
You couldn’t tell her so
The only way to live it was by giving it a go
No doubt there’ll be something for everyone
When turning every stone
She can’t leave well enough alone

What’s true for some
Just like a song could break your heart
When the sum is framed
To mislead them all
The fated cast

With the chances slim to none
Whenever the moment comes
To it may they rise.

For the years were long
and the night time too
On a Sunday morning
They’d had enough and the world had too
On a Sunday morning.

Now the chances are slim to none
Whenever the moment comes
To it may you rise.

For the years were long
and the night time too
On a Sunday morning
She’d had enough
and the world had too
On a Sunday morning.

http://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/rm04.png00rebeccamartinhttp://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/rm04.pngrebeccamartin2014-08-25 03:26:282015-07-04 13:56:00"On a Sunday Morning". A new original by Rebecca Martin.

Rebecca Martin’s latest recording TWAIN, a collaboration with longtime partner bassist Larry Grenadier and produced by Pete Rende was catapulted to the #1 spot in Jazz in France on iTunes and Amazon. Revered music critic MICHEL CONTAT who writes for Telerama France, one of the largest publications in the country, gives the album four stars:

“TWAIN: The miraculous alchemy between a singer and bass player”Rebecca Martin and Larry Grenadier are a couple who play together and separately, as he is also known for his key role as bassist in the famous Brad Mehldau Trio. We were introduced to them together through their enchanting disc When I Was Long Ago” (2010 Sunnyside), where the famous singer totally reinterpreted standards with a spell singing verses rarely included in the reference versions. This time, the deputy is a pianist and a drummer, and the very discreet duo assert a familiar song (“Sophisticated Lady”) with others that are all original that sound old and with a unique intimate beauty. We cannot overstate the importance of sincerity, as with Rebecca Martin, it is built entirely in art. Her voice is that of the love and confidence of maternal comfort. How the bass lines support is love itself. Such a disk is something miraculous in the avalanche of vocal jazz.– Michel Contat

Earlier this year, NATE CHINEN of the New York Times featured Martin in a full page Arts & Leisure piece titled “A Voice That Leaps Between Genres” proclaiming her work as an inspiration to a generation of jazz singers.

“Ms. Martin is a vocalist with an earnest and unaffected style and a songwriter of unforced insight…the new album also highlights a shift toward original material and folky ambience by a generation of singers, some of whom see Ms. Martin as a touchstone.” – Nate Chinen

Her sensitivity through singing, songs and a long standing commitment to community organizing landed her a spot as featured artist on Art of the Song, the public radio program heard nationwide over 150 stations. This hour long program celebrates the creativity of musicians who they believe are a ‘profound agent for community and for change.’ Listen here.

Fans on the West Coast in August will have the opportunity to hear Martin and Grenadier who will both be teaching in SAN FRANCISCO, CA at the Stanford Jazz Workshop and performing in LOS ANGELES, CA at THE BLUE WHALE located at 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka Street Suite 301 LA, CA on Saturday, August 10th. Doors at 8:00pm with a showtime at 9:00pm. Tickets are $15. Visit www.bluewhalemusic.com for more information.

For further information or to request an interview or music, please contact Patrice Fehlen at September Gurl Music, 718.768.3859 or patrice@septembergurl.com.

http://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/rm04.png00rebeccamartinhttp://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/rm04.pngrebeccamartin2013-07-25 01:35:562014-04-22 12:07:27TWAIN Catapults to #1 in Jazz in France. Martin Featured on Art of the Song Nationwide on Public Radio. West Coast Performance in August.

KINGSTON, N.Y. — A New York Times Sunday Arts & Leisure piece written by Nate Chinen was published this weekend on Rebecca Martin and her upcoming release TWAIN on Sunnyside Records (available nationwide on Tuesday, March 26th). “Ms. Martin is a vocalist with an earnest and unaffected style and a songwriter of unforced insight; Mr. Grenadier, her husband, is in the top tier of jazz bassists. Together they made Ms. Martin’s new album, “Twain,” due out on Sunnyside on Tuesday, in cloistered intimacy, recording a dozen of her songs with no initial accompaniment other than upright bass (his) and fingerpicked acoustic guitar (hers).”

“… the new album also highlights a shift toward original material and folky ambiance by a generation of jazz singers, some of whom see Ms. Martin as a touchstone. Among them are Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens, with whom Ms. Martin formed a collective called Tillery two years ago, after they struck an instant chemistry late one evening around her dinner table. “She’s been a great guide and mentor and sister in my songwriting,” said Ms. Parlato, who won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition in 2004 but hadn’t written her own songs before befriending Ms. Martin.”

“…And, perhaps most of all, Ms. Martin’s songs, which have long dwelled in implication, creating a vivid emotional climate without divulging many details. One reason younger songwriters admire Ms. Martin may be that she writes from a place of genuine interiority; another is that her melodies and her lyrics feel so naturally enmeshed.”

http://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/rm04.png00rebeccamartinhttp://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/rm04.pngrebeccamartin2013-03-24 13:06:432013-07-17 22:10:34Rebecca Martin and TWAIN Featured in New York Times. Martin a 'touchstone' to a generation of jazz singers for singing and songwriting.

Singer and Songwriter Rebecca Martin Discusses the Lyrics on TWAIN, Community and Collaborations.

Along with release of TWAIN on March 26, Martin looks ahead to performing with her trio TILLERY that features GRETCHEN PARLATO and BECCA STEVENS at the Kennedy Center for the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival In May

Kingston, NY – “I get all of my material for and emotional connection to the songs I write or interpret these days from hands on experiences,” says the singer and songwriter Rebecca Martin reflecting on the songs from TWAIN (Sunnyside Records). “I’ve become so active in our community that my life as an avid reader has transformed itself into one of an avid doer.”

A state of Maine native, Martin moved to New York City to pursue her musical endeavors. Throughout the 90’s, Martin co-led the influential duo Once Blue (EMI Records) with Jesse Harris. After a handful of critically acclaimed solo recordings Martin migrated North to the Hudson Valley with husband and collaborator Larry Grenadier and had a son. From that point on, in tandem with making music, she found a new way of using her organizational skills in community work. There, she tirelessly advocated for transparency and better communication between the people and government. This work eventually landed her a position as Executive Director of an Urban Land Trust in the area, where under her leadership the organization was sited as a national model for urban land trusts by the Land Trust Alliance. Known for her “dizzying array of local initiatives“, Martin and many volunteers created programs and committees for rail trails, urban agriculture, African-American cemetery preservation projects and more. “Having a child and being so far from family motivated me to get as involved as I have.” says Rebecca. “It has been an eye opening experience to say the least, and has certainly informed my music.”

Yesterday I saw it coming on.

There was little that the peasant could do.

Into their hearts fully open and aligned

for the daggers and arrows that flew.

Just beyond the hillside

back where the curtain calls to us

There the music reminds me

that the whole world is waiting to find us”

From “Beyond the Hillside” by Rebecca Martin

“There are two distinct story lines running through this particular piece, the ‘bearing witness’ to the many unpleasantries out in the field and the hopefulness in the music. It’s a very bittersweet song.”

Martin credits her friendship with GRETCHEN PARLATO and BECCA STEVENS as being her ‘touchstone to the music’ during the recent phase in her life of work, family and community. The inspiration she drew from their communion resulted in the formation of the super group TILLERY, a trio that they share. The three kindred spirits’ seamless rapport has been wowing audiences since they joined forces in 2010. These days, the threesome work together when schedules permit, including a prestigious performance at the KENNEDY CENTER in Washington, D.C. as part of the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival on May 17th, 2013.

To help Martin celebrate her new release TWAIN, Parlato and Stevens will join her on stage for a song at the Rockwood Music Hall, stage 2 located at 196 Allen Street, NY on Thursday, March 28th in New York City. Tickets for the event are $15 and can be purchased online by visiting ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL.

http://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/rm04.png00rebeccamartinhttp://rebeccamartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/rm04.pngrebeccamartin2013-03-13 14:48:382013-03-13 15:18:18Singer and Songwriter Rebecca Martin Discusses the Lyrics on TWAIN, Community and Collaborations.

NPR Chooses Jazz Singer and Songwriter Rebecca Martin’s Upcoming Release TWAIN as “One to Look Out For in 2013”. Record Release and a live recording scheduled at the Rockwood Music Hall in New York City in March.

In anticipation of the jazz singer and songwriter Rebecca Martin’s upcoming release on Sunnyside Records, NPR’s Patrick Jarenwattananon includes TWAIN as one of 15 buzzed about jazz/ish albums to look out for in 2013.

“The vocalist Rebecca Martin’s last album was a collection of standards, recorded only with a saxophonist (Bill McHenry) and a bass player, Larry Grenadier. Think of TWAIN as a sequel of sorts: It’s a program of mostly originals, backed only by Grenadier, who is also her husband. As a singer, she has a sense of nuance that fits a spare setting well; as a songwriter, she’s already put out several albums of her own tunes.”

Rebecca Martin will be accompanied by bassist Larry Grenadier at New York City’s Rockwood Music Hall room 2 on Thursday, March 28th, two days after the records release. They will perform one set of original compositions and standards. The performance will also be recorded by Pete Rende in preparation for a live recording. Tickets are $15.00. The Rockwood Music Hall (stage 2) is located at 196 Allen Street, NYC 10002. Tickets can be purchased online at the ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL. For more information, call 212/477-4155.

A highly accomplished husband and wife team, Grenadier and Martin earn continual accolades for their live performances. Renowned critic Alain Burnet of Montreal’s La Presse wrote “In the circles of Jazz in New York…[Martin’s] approval rating has risen steadily over recent years, and for good reason. In Montreal, she still remains a secret….I will not keep it to myself: count me in!”

WATCH Rebecca Martin and Larry Grenadier perform “Born to be Blue” written by Mel Torme and Robert Wells live at Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington Center in Washington, DC. Filmed by Christian Amonson.